Placed on TDRL, Expected PDRL - Appeal?

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PEB Forum Regular Member

Got my ratings back, 60% DOD 90% VA, but it's on the TDRL. Having a hard time figuring out why they would put me on TDRL with a permanent disease with no cure (Ulcerative Colitis). Would it be advisable to appeal this to the FPEB to get it changed to PDRL?

Active Member

PEB Forum Regular Member

What the heck I was not expecting that. I just don’t understand what the benefit is by putting you on the TDRL? Maybe to see if your symptoms get better within the next 5 years so they can decrease your percentage (pay you less) or allow you to come back to AD? I had no idea that you basically leave AD even under the TDRL too? Do you mind me asking what AFSC you are?

I found this on another website.
“A service member is placed on TDRL only if his condition is not stable, he has Total Combined Military Disability Rating of 30% or higher, and there is a chance that he could improve enough to return to full duty or seriously worsen within the next five years.”

During the TDRL period, the service member must be occasionally re-evaluated (generally every 18 months) to determine the progress of his condition and his disability ratings updated to reflect any changes in his condition.

If the condition improves enough during his time on TDRL, the PEB may find the condition no longer unfitting. In that case, the service member can choose to either return to full active duty or permanently retire from the military. If he chooses to return to full duty, all DoD disability benefits he was receiving during TDRL will stop.

If the service member chooses to permanently retire or if the condition worsens, or at least does not improve, and becomes relatively stable, the PEB will medically retire or medically separate the service member with a permanent Military Disability Rating based on the severity of his condition at that time.

All TDRL cases will receive a permanent rating based only on the VASRD criteria that is in effect at the end of the TDRL period.”

PEB Forum Regular Member

What the heck I was not expecting that. I just don’t understand what the benefit is by putting you on the TDRL? Maybe to see if your symptoms get better within the next 5 years so they can decrease your percentage (pay you less) or allow you to come back to AD? I had no idea that you basically leave AD even under the TDRL too? Do you mind me asking what AFSC you are?

I found this on another website.
“A service member is placed on TDRL only if his condition is not stable, he has Total Combined Military Disability Rating of 30% or higher, and there is a chance that he could improve enough to return to full duty or seriously worsen within the next five years.”

During the TDRL period, the service member must be occasionally re-evaluated (generally every 18 months) to determine the progress of his condition and his disability ratings updated to reflect any changes in his condition.

If the condition improves enough during his time on TDRL, the PEB may find the condition no longer unfitting. In that case, the service member can choose to either return to full active duty or permanently retire from the military. If he chooses to return to full duty, all DoD disability benefits he was receiving during TDRL will stop.

If the service member chooses to permanently retire or if the condition worsens, or at least does not improve, and becomes relatively stable, the PEB will medically retire or medically separate the service member with a permanent Military Disability Rating based on the severity of his condition at that time.

All TDRL cases will receive a permanent rating based only on the VASRD criteria that is in effect at the end of the TDRL period.”

Active Member

Got my ratings back, 60% DOD 90% VA, but it's on the TDRL. Having a hard time figuring out why they would put me on TDRL with a permanent disease with no cure (Ulcerative Colitis). Would it be advisable to appeal this to the FPEB to get it changed to PDRL?

PEB Forum Regular Member

Got my ratings back, 60% DOD 90% VA, but it's on the TDRL. Having a hard time figuring out why they would put me on TDRL with a permanent disease with no cure (Ulcerative Colitis). Would it be advisable to appeal this to the FPEB to get it changed to PDRL?

I also have pancolitis and am at the very early stages of a MEB. Based on my symptoms I would probably get 30%. I’m in between the 30% and 60% definitions but I won’t qualify for 60%.

Code 7323: Ulcerative colitis (a.k.a. inflammatory bowel disease) is a disease of the colon where tears or open sores form in the tissues of the colon and cause bloody diarrhea.
If it is very severe and constant and causes serious malnutrition, anemia, and overall disabling bad health or if it causes a severe liver abscess, it is rated 100%. If it is severe, but not constant, with many attacks a year that cause malnutrition which then causes overall bad health that cannot be fully recovered during the periods in between attacks, it is rated 60%. If it is somewhat severe and causes some attacks a year, but less than a severe condition, it is rated 30%. If there are only occasional attacks, it is rated 10%.

PEB Forum Regular Member

Theres no difference between services really... the VA handles it all. 30% seems to be the going rate for most UC cases. I was anemic with weight loss and malnutrition and failed outpatient steroids. Now i'm on remicade and imuran... so they bumped to 60.

bkess, that's old data. They changed the terminology a bit. Recommend looking it up from the source on va.gov

PEB Forum Regular Member

Theres no difference between services really... the VA handles it all. 30% seems to be the going rate for most UC cases. I was anemic with weight loss and malnutrition and failed outpatient steroids. Now i'm on remicade and imuran... so they bumped to 60.

bkess, that's old data. They changed the terminology a bit. Recommend looking it up from the source on va.gov

Yea I'm anemic with weight loss as well. My gastro said that due to my severity the steroids wouldn't work either so they started me right on Remicade and imuran. I'm most likely in the 30% range since they didn't see I was malnourished. Hope the meds are working for you!!

PEB Forum Regular Member

Yea I'm anemic with weight loss as well. My gastro said that due to my severity the steroids wouldn't work either so they started me right on Remicade and imuran. I'm most likely in the 30% range since they didn't see I was malnourished. Hope the meds are working for you!!

PEB Forum Regular Member

I had some bad news, my new GI doc at Walter Reed told me that it would absolutely be 10% rating for me. This compared to my GI doc at Landstuhl who thought for sure at least 30%. Told me I should try to fight and have them retain me... The amount of ambiguity of this whole process is just sad and frustrating.

PEB Forum Regular Member

bkess, just take a look at the C&P exam form for UC. If you think the doctor would mark the boxes that match the terminology used for 30%... then that's probably what you would get. If you're not on biologic therapy, you have a good shot at getting retained I think. I was retained when I was on mesalamine maintenance 8 years ago.

PEB Forum Regular Member

Went from mesalanine to Humira in 6 months. I personally wouldn’t categorize that as mild and 10%, but hey what do I know I’m just the patient. Time will tell what happens. I’m planning on 10% and discharged, but will hope for anything better.

PEB Forum Regular Member

Went from mesalanine to Humira in 6 months. I personally wouldn’t categorize that as mild and 10%, but hey what do I know I’m just the patient. Time will tell what happens. I’m planning on 10% and discharged, but will hope for anything better.

PEB Forum Regular Member

I PCSed right when they put me on it. My old GI doc told me it was fairly severe and would easily be 30%. He was the the one who had been with me since my symptoms flared up badly.

My brand new one this week at Walter reed reviewed only my paperwork and said it was only 10% because it’s mild and 10% has been the going rate for IBD patients lately. Granted, he did say that he is only really familiar with the Army/Navy process compared to the AF.

Both are army docs.
Does my current GI doc have that much impact in the process based on how they write it up? I probably need to scrub my records to see how my old doc wrote up my paperwork/symptoms.

PEB Forum Regular Member

99% of docs are ignorant of how all this rating stuff works so their opinion means nothing. If you've already had C&P done go get a copy and compare against CFR 38. All the subjective stuff is done during C&P, after that it's just matching up the C&P results to the CFR. The C&P exams are tailored to answer the questions asked in the CFR.

Your C&P was not a DBQ, but we can look at the DBQ to infer most of what is examined: DBQ